The Importance of Planning for House Fires - What to Plan & Prepare
The fire damage repair professionals at Paul Davis understand how damaging house fires are. Not only can house fires decimate your property and personal belongings, but they are emotionally unsettling and make you feel insecure. Fires can happen in a matter of minutes and can be produced by lots of variables, so a lot of the time they're out of your control such as your neighbor's house being on fire or natural disasters. But there are still some steps you can implement to lessen the risk of a house fire in your home.Form and Practice an Emergency Strategy for Your Home
One of the most fundamental things you can do to prepare for a house fire is to have safety rules ready. Since not all fires are preventable, being safe is essential. All properties need the right amount of fire extinguishers and smoke alarms set throughout the property. You should also consider getting smoke alarms that trigger from smoke that is produced by electrical fires since damaged wiring is one of the primary culprits of house fires. Children in the house should be educated on how a smoke alarm sounds when it goes off and what to do when this occurs. Next, have your emergency routes ready. Every member in the house should know two ways to get out from every room and where to gather outside when a fire occurs. Also, make sure that all members of the household know how to call 911 in the incident of an emergency. Making a record of your personal property is an excellent idea for insurance purposes just in case all your stuff is damaged by the flames. You'll also want to keep valuable documents such as passports and birth certificates in a strong box, and you can create digital replicas and upload them to a cloud drive for back ups.What to Think about to Minimize House Fire Dangers
There are some things to be aware of so you can decrease the risks and hazards that are correlated with house fires:- Fireplaces: Getting a suitable screen for your fireplace is integral for the safety of your home and everyone who lives in it. Make sure it is stable enough to prevent sparks and rolling logs. Additionally, you should clean and maintain your fireplace consistently to clear away the highly flammable creosote that forms.
- Portable Heaters: It's imperative to keep any combustible or flammable items at least three feet from a portable heater. {In addition,} you will need your heater to have a control mechanism too and other features for safety such as turning off when the heater falls over.
- Smoking: Inside smoking makes your home susceptible to house fires, so the best approach to avoid a calamity is to smoke outdoors. If you do smoke indoors, make sure you have suitable ashtrays to stop a cigar or cigarette from rolling onto the ground. However, if someone in the home is using oxygen, do not smoke indoors because oxygen is highly combustible.
- Children: Keep any matches or lighters in a location that is out of sight and out of reach from kids to prevent their curiosity from lighting a fire. Educate your kids that fire is not a toy as well.
- Cooking: It's crucial to be observant in the kitchen and to not ignore cooking food alone. Without exception have someone there to keep an eye on everything going on.
- Appliances and Electrical: Worn down cords and damaged plugs could easily generate a house fire, so make sure to check your appliances routinely for any issues. Also, check up on the switches for your lights because if they're hot, they have to be replaced.